We’d like to welcome all of you who are interested in what promises to be a really exciting project: the first full-length American documentary film about the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa. The working title is The Missing Piece: Vincenzo Peruggia and the Unthinkable Theft of the Mona Lisa. It’s the story of Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian workman who walked into the Louvre on Monday, August 21, 1911 and walked out of the museum with the famous painting. He kept it in his Paris room for nearly two and a half years. In December 1913, he brought it to Florence, Italy. Peruggia claimed that all the Italian works in the Louvre had been plundered from Italy by Napoleon and that he was returning the Mona Lisa to its rightful place. Unfortunately, Peruggia was wrong. King Francis I purchased the Mona Lisa from Leonardo da Vinci. It was property of France so it was returned there in January 1914. Nevertheless, the Italians made Vincenzo somewhat of a folk hero. There are so many missing pieces to this puzzle: How did a simple workman outwit the best police minds of the time? Did he work alone or did he have accomplices? Did he really keep it hidden in his room in for 27 months or was it somewhere in Italy? Was he really a patriot or was he looking to make money? A new documentary about the man who stole the Mona Lisa The Missing Piece Or was all this a master plan of a brilliant conman and a master forger to sell copies of the stolen Mona Lisa? The purpose of our film is to learn the truth about what happened. We’re doing it by interviewing living descendants and friends of people involved in the theft; examining the official French and Italian documents; visiting the actual places in Paris, London, Florence and Dumenza, Italy; and hearing from some of the most respected art critics and art crime investigators in the world. Since we began production at the end of February 2008, we’ve already uncovered things about this story that have never been seen or cited in any book or video. And our international team of researchers and authorities are uncovering new details every week. This topic is something that we’ve been interested in for more than 30 years. And now with the 100 th anniversary of the theft approaching, the time has come once and for all to put the pieces of this crime, this puzzle, together. Vincenzo Peruggia The Mona Lisa missing from its place in the Louvre. Joe Medeiros Director Justine Medeiros Executive Producer Midair Rose Productions 4607 Lakeview Canyon Dr. #310 Westlake Village, CA 91361 Phone: 818 597-0142 E-Mail: [email protected]The Missing Piece Vincenzo Peruggia And the Unthinkable Theft of the Mona Lisa The most thorough and accurate film about Vincenzo Peruggia and the greatest little-known art theft in history.
Transcript
We’d like to welcome all of you who are interested in what promises to be a really exciting project: the first full-length American documentary film about the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa.
The working title is The Missing Piece: Vincenzo Peruggia and the Unthinkable Theft of the Mona Lisa. It’s the story of Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian workman who walked into the Louvre on Monday, August 21, 1911 and walked out of the museum with the famous painting.
He kept it in his Paris room for nearly two and a half years. In December 1913, he brought it to Florence, Italy. Peruggia claimed that all the Italian works in the Louvre had been plundered from Italy by Napoleon and that he was returning the Mona Lisa to its rightful place.
Unfortunately, Peruggia was wrong. King Francis I purchased the Mona Lisa from Leonardo da Vinci. It was property of France so it was returned there in January 1914.
Nevertheless, the Italians made Vincenzo somewhat of a folk hero.
There are so many missing pieces to this puzzle: How did a simple workman outwit the best police minds of the time? Did he work alone or did he have accomplices? Did he really keep it hidden in his room in for 27 months or was it somewhere in Italy? Was he really a patriot or was he looking to make money?
A new documentary about the man who stole the Mona Lisa
The Missing Piece
Or was all this a master plan of a brilliant conman and a master forger to sell copies of the stolen Mona Lisa? The purpose of our film is to learn the truth about what happened. We’re doing it by interviewing living descendants and friends of people involved in the theft; examining the official French and Italian documents; visiting the actual places in Paris, London, Florence and Dumenza, Italy; and hearing from some of the most respected art critics and art crime investigators in the world. Since we began production at the end of February 2008, we’ve already uncovered things about this story that have never been seen or cited in any book or video. And our international team of researchers and authorities are uncovering new details every week. This topic is something that we’ve been interested in for more than 30 years. And now with the 100th anniversary of the theft approaching, the time has come once and for all to put the pieces of this crime, this puzzle, together.
Vincenzo Peruggia
The Mona Lisa missing from its place in the Louvre.
When we learned that Vincenzo’s daughter was still alive and still living in Italy, we knew we had to find her and get her story on tape.
Thanks to the tireless work of our Producer Letizia Rubino, we located Celestina and did two telephone interviews with her: one on March 22 (her birthday) and one on April 16. Then on May 22, we flew to Milan and drove to Dumenza, Italy where we spent three days interviewing Celestina and her family.
Celestina is 84-years-old and lives with her husband Amleto. She spoke to us for hours about her feelings for her father: the shame his family felt over his stealing the Mona Lisa and the courage she believed he had to keep the painting for so long and to, in the end, return it to Italy. She was only a year and a half old when her father died of a heart attack in France at the age of 44 on October 8, 1925. She says that he spent more time with La Gioconda than with her. In 1927, almost two years after Peruggia’s
Meet Vincenzo Peruggia’s Daughter Celestina
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death, Celestina’s mother married his youngest brother Ernesto (brothers marrying their brothers widows was very common in those days.) Celestina was raised by Ernesto and never even knew what Vincenzo had done until she was 20 years old. To Celestina, Ernesto was her Papa. She doesn’t remember and never knew her father Vincenzo because her mother never spoke to her about it. She learned everything she knows about him from her aunt. When Italian television did a dramatic series on the theft in 1978, they got the facts wrong. They said her mother left her father to live with his brother and that she was a bigamist and that her father died broke and lonely. None of that was true. Her mother was alive at the time and this is how everyone in the town came to think of her. Celestina’s goal in participating in our film is to tell the truth about Vincenzo Peruggia and his family.
Tuesday is the day that the Louvre is closed to the public for its weekly cleaning. That was the day we were allowed to film. We were pretty fortunate as you can see from the above photo of a non-Tuesday.
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LOUVRE HOSPITALITY Tuesday October 14, 2008 is a day that the
project crew will never forget. Through the
kind cooperation of Conservator of the
Department of Paintings, M. Vincent Delieuvin
and Mme. Isabelle Deborne of the Louvre staff,
we were able to have a full day shooting at the
Louvre including an hour alone with the Mona
Lisa.
With us was Silvio Peruggia, the grandson of
the man who stole the Mona Lisa who traced
the route his grandfather took in and out of the
museum on August 21, 1911.
(L to R) Writer/Director Joe Medeiros; Executive Producer Justine Medeiros; M. Vincent Delieuvin, Conservator of the Department of Paintings; and our amazing Paris-based producers Meredith Tolan and Stephane Dichamp. Our top-notch cameraman Fabio Pasini took the photo.
This is the view from M. Delieuvin’s office. The view from my office in Burbank is of a gas station, a Mexican restaurant and a liquor store.
Silvio Peruggia holds a picture of his grandfather in front of the painting his grandfather kept for two years, three months and nineteen days.
Producer Stephane Dichamp talks with the Louvre’s Mme. Isabelle Deborne.
The pleasures of indie film production: we lug our own gear.
Silvio poses with Producer Meredith Tolan and our Italian interpreter Violetta Spadea.
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A Treasure Trove of New Information from France and Italy
Part of a letter that Peruggia wrote to his parents. Note his signature at the bottom
A postcard Peruggia sent from Florence to a friend back in his hometown of Dumenza the day before his arrest.
A postcard from Peruggia to his father
M. Delieuvin graciously gave us access to the Louvre archives where we found and
photographed never-before-seen documents, articles and photos regarding the theft.
(Below) We visited the State Archives in Florence and saw dozens of original letters written by Peruggia to his family,
friends, and to the art dealer Alfredo Geri to whom he ultimately returned the painting.
The envelope to the first letter that Peruggia sent to art dealer Alfredo Geri offering him the Mona Lisa. Peruggia got Geri’s
first name wrong, calling him Allessandro.
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In Search of Vincenzo Peruggia
5 Rue de L’Hopital Saint Louis where Peruggia lived at the time of the theft. Above is his room in 1913 and today.
A September 1947 obituary for Vincenzo Peruggia. The only problem is, he died on October 8, 1925. We have his death certificate. This is the wrong guy. They spelled his name wrong again, too – Ferrugia.
The Florentine hotel where Peruggia was arrested. Formerly the Hotel Tripoli-Italia, it was re-named the Hotel Gioconda in 1913 to capitalize on its newfound fame.
Room 20 in the Hotel Gioconda. If you look closely at the nameplate you can see that Peruggia’s last name is misspelled.
(Above) Peruggia’s granddaughter Graziella has her photo taken by her husband Sergio.
Although his body was removed many years ago, this is Vincenzo Peruggia’s gravesite. The body buried there today dates from 1980’s.
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Remembering Peruggia
With the agreement of the Peruggia family and Comune of Dumenza, we had a plaque made by Carol DeMello and Candace Simpson of Geiger Midlantic in Philadelphia. We placed it on the house where Vincenzo Peruggia was born in Dumenza.
In the town square of Dumenza, you can still see a quote on a wall from Mussolini. But there was nothing commemorating it as the birthplace of the man who stole the Mona Lisa.
The plaque reads: “Here was born on October 8, 1881 Vincenzo Peruggia, the man who stole the Mona Lisa of Leonardo da Vinci on August 21, 1911.” “Remembered by Joe and Justine Medeiros, October 21, 2008”
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Interviewing the Experts
Author Jerome Coignard at the Café Marly in the Louvre Associate Producer Anne Clement
with historian Pierre Daix
Professor Donald Sassoon in his London flat with Joe and Producer Stephane Dichamp
Joe and Producer Letizia Rubino with historian Pietro Macchione.
Former Scotland Yard art crimes detective Charles Hill at the Alexia Goethe Gallery in London.
Stephane and Joe at the home of author/psychologist Darian Leader
The Valfierno Theory as told by Robert Noah Author of “The Man Who Stol e the Mona Lisa”
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It’s been our good fortune to speak with award-winning author Robert Noah who wrote “The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa.” It’s a novel based on the Karl Decker “Valfierno” story. This story claims that an Argentinean conman named Eduardo de Valfierno masterminded a plot to sell forgeries of the Mona Lisa and that he fooled Vincenzo Peruggia into stealing the Mona Lisa so that he (Valfierno) could pass off each forgery as the real thing.
Karl Decker was a “yellow journalist” who worked for William Randolph Hearst during the Spanish American War. Decker claimed that Valfierno told him the story after the theft but Decker didn’t write it until Valfierno died. It was published in the Saturday Evening Post June 25, 1932. Many people believe the Decker story to be true. Part of our film will be dedicated to fact-checking Decker’s article.
.
My first reference source:
MILTON ESTEROW’S THE ART STEALERS
Even the great artist Pablo Picasso became enmeshed in the investigation of the Mona Lisa’s theft. Thanks to Milton Esterow, publisher of ARTNEWS, we received contact information for Pierre Daix, the famed novelist, essayist, art historian and close friend of Pablo Picasso. (1881-1973) Anne Clement, one of our team members in Paris, called M. Daix who agreed to be interviewed for the film. We’re very excited by the possibility of learning more about Picasso’s involvement from M. Daix. The following was excerpted from yourbrushwiththelaw.com: Both Pablo Picasso, who resided in Montmarte, and his close friend (the poet) Apollinaire, were brought in by the French Surete as suspects in this crime. In 1907, a friend of Apollinaire's named Ge'ry Pieret stole several valuable artifacts from a storeroom at the
Louvre, simply by placing them under his overcoat and walking out.
Both Picasso and Apollinaire bought objects from Pieret and later denied knowing they were stolen. Picasso kept the objects in an inconspicuous place, fully of their illicit nature.
After the theft of the Mona Lisa, Pieret sold his story, along with a full confession and a statuette from the museum, to the Paris-Journal. This article further humiliated the Louvre and incriminated Picasso and Apollinaire. Both Picasso and Apollinaire were overcome with fear (both were subject to deportation due to alien status) and contemplated throwing the artifacts into the Seine. Picasso was brought in for questioning, where he gave up his Iberian heads, and was released. Apollinaire was arrested on September 7, 1911. He was not released until September 12, 1911. He was extremely frightened and hated his stay in a cell, however, for years after the fact, he would boast of being the only man in France to be arrested for the famous crime.
Thirty years ago when I stumbled upon the story of Vincenzo Peruggia and the theft of the Mona Lisa, I found a copy of The Art Stealers by Milton Esterow. In it, there were two chapters of highly informative, highly researched facts about Vincenzo and the theft. I photocopied the pages and they’ve been my bible for this crime ever since. Knowing that this film wouldn’t be complete without somehow interviewing Milton Esterow, I contacted him at the New York office of ARTNEWS where he is editor and publisher. He generously agreed to be interviewed and has given us many important contacts including Pierre Daix and Charley Hill, the famed former Scotland Yard Art Crime investigator. For thirty years, I relied on Milt Esterow’s work to help me track down information on the theft. I am thrilled and honored to have Milt and his associates involved in our project. (Oh, and after using my photocopied pages all these years, I finally bought an entire copy of The Art Stealers on Amazon.com.)
FRIEND OF PICASSO INTERVIEWED
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We wouldn’t have done any of this without the kindness and cooperation of Celestina Peruggia and the Peruggia family. When we interviewed her in May, she said that all she wanted was for us to present the truth about her father. I asked “What if we find out some things about your father that aren’t so good?” She said that she didn’t care. She wanted the truth. We think that we’ve found the truth and before we left from this most recent trip, we showed her what we found – and not all of it was good. She told us that “THE CHAPTER IS CLOSED.” She is satisfied that because of our research, she knows what there is to know and she has no need to be interviewed by anyone else. What began for me 30 years ago with a sentence about the theft that I read in a book ended last month in Dumenza with us earning the trust and gratitude of this remarkable woman and her family. All that remains is for me to put the pieces of the puzzle together to make a film about this unlikely theft and the little-known Italian immigrant who stunned the world.
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The Missing Piece Vincenzo Peruggia and the Unthinkable Theft of the Mona Lisa A Midai r Rose Produc tion Wri ter/Direc t or Joe Medeiros Executive Producer Justine Medeiros Produced by Letizia Rubino Meredith Tolan Stephane Dichamp Featuring Intervi ews wi th
Celestina Peruggia Daughter of Vincenzo Peruggia
Silvio Peruggia Son of Celestina
Graziella Peruggia Daughter of Celestina
Valerio Peruggia Vice Mayor of Dumenza, Nephew of Celestina
Amaleto Peruggia Husband of Celestina
Michini (Sergio) Bradamante Husband of Graziella
Graziano Ballinari Historian, Author
Federico Berti Historian Author
W. Joseph Campbell, Ph.D. Associate Professor, School of Communication American University, Washington, D.C.
Jerome Coignard Author, “On a vol la Joconde”
Pierre Daix Novelist, essayist, art historian, friend of Pablo Picasso
Edward Dolnick Author, “The Rescue Artist”
Milton Esterow Editor Publisher, ARTNEWS Magazine Author “The Art Stealers”
Aaron Freundschuh Lecturer, Princeton University
Alexia Goethe London gallery owner Margaret Leslie Davis Author, “Mona Lisa in Camelot”
Deborah Denno Arthur A. Givney Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University
Michelangelo Fraggieri Historian of the Varese
Charles Hill Scotland Yard’s Art Theft Squad (ret)
Darian Leader Psychoanalyst, author “Stealing the Mona Lisa: What Art Stops Us from Seeing”
Jack Levin, Ph.D Professor of Sociology and Criminology Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
Joshua Littlefield Paul Littlefield Grandsons of Walter Littlefield, editor New York Times
Marco Grassi Restorer Owner Grassi Studio, NYC Grandsons of Walter Littlefield, New York Times editor Gianfranco Luzzetti Antique dealer, Florence
Pietro Macchione Editor, author “La Gioconda Rapita”
Gianni Mazzoni Author, Art forgery expert
Rick Nevin Economist
Robert Noah Author “The Man Who Stole the Mona Lisa”
Edmee Reit Widow of Seymour Reit – author “The Day They Stole the Mona
Lisa” Donald Sassoon, PhD Professor, Queen Mary University of London Author “Becoming Mona Lisa” and “Leonardo and the Mona Lisa Story” Paolo Sorbi Grandson of Paolo Amaldi, the psychiatrist who examined Peruggia in prison
Filmed on Locati on in Paris, Florence, Milan, Dumenza, Italy, London, New York, Washington, DC Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia
